


From the Dirt, From the Stars

by snapdragonpop007



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chronic Illness, Dubious Ethics, Dubious Science, Eddie and Maria and Mrs. Chen are the brot3 you never knew you needed, Multi, Other, eddie signs up for those symbiote trials, i don't know how to tag without spoiling, implied prostitution thats not really implied, its not cannibalism if your support symbiote makes you do it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-08-11 14:18:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16477166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapdragonpop007/pseuds/snapdragonpop007
Summary: Eddie didn't care that he lost his job. He didn't care about his apartment, or his fiance, or hiscat. He didn't care that he lost everything, because at least he still had Maria and Mrs Chen. But even then he was going to lose that too if he couldn't get money fast.And Eddie had long been past the point of caring about dignity.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> based off of this post --> https://venomtots.tumblr.com/post/179210835083/so-my-spouse-thought-of-an-alternate-version-of

“Hey, Eddie.”

“Hey, Maria.” Eddie fell next to her on her pile of blankets and pillows with a huff, wincing at his back jolted. “You havin’ a good night?” 

“Yeah, I sold a couple papers.” She gave him a bright smile and a thermos of something that smelled like honey and green tea that Eddie wasn’t entirely sure she didn’t steal.

Eddie could hardly care, and he took it and sipped at it slowly to ease the ache in his throat and wash down the bitter taste of salt and booze. 

“How about you?” Maria bumped his shoulder.

Eddie smiled and dropped his head on her shoulder. She was warm, and Eddie was always so cold. “I’ve ‘ad better.” 

Maria brought a hand up to stroke the top of Eddie’s head. Eddie closed his eyes and sighed, pressing himself closer to her. “It’ll get better, Eddie.” she mumbled it, dropping her head and pressing her cheek against the top of Eddie’s head. “It always does.” 

Eddie stayed silent. 

It had been six months, and his life had only seemed to get shitter with each day. 

“Come’on, I’ll go buy us some cookies.” 

“You don’t ‘ave to do that--” Eddie tried to protest. Maria hardly had anything, and Eddie would much rather her save it, but she was already shifting and gently prying Eddie away from his shoulder.

“But I want to.” She gave him another bright smile. “I have enough to splurge.” 

Eddie blinked, then smiled softly. “Alrigh’.” 

He set the thermos down and offered Maria his hands, helping her stand. She wobbled, and Eddie was quick to wrap his arms around her waist and move closer to keep her steady. 

“Are ya sure ya wanna go out?” Eddie asked her softly.

“I’ll be okay, Eddie.” Maria smiled again, but it wasn’t as bright as it usually was. “You’ll just have to hold my hand.” 

Eddie snorted and laughed, pressing a kiss to Maria’s temple as he slid his hand into hers. “Anythin’ for you, Maria.” 

Maria stayed close to Eddie, holding his hand just a bit too tightly. She had been getting worse over these past few weeks, and Eddie couldn’t bring in money fast enough to pay for her medications. He could only increase his prices so much before people started to look elsewhere, and there was his own health that he had to factor in--

“Eddie, I’m okay.” Maria broke his train of thoughts, pressing against his side and dropping her head on his shoulder. “I promise.” 

“I know,” Eddie tilted his head till it was resting on Maria’s, and he gave her another soft kiss to the top of her head. “Doesn't mean I ain’t gonna worry about ya.” 

Maria smiled, her voice a pleasant rumble along Eddie’s chest. “You’re too good to me.” 

“Nah, _you’re_ too good to me.” Eddie pulled her just a little bit closer, slipping his arm out of his jacket so he could wrap the two of them in the soft leather. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, and Eddie hummed something soft. Maria joined him--she really had a lovely voice, despite Eddie’s teasing--and their nonsense humming turned into a song. Maria had started to sing the words to a Wham! song, and Eddie kept humming the beat as well as he could. 

They broke off into wheezing laughter as they reached the bakery. 

“I’ll pay you to never sing again.” Eddie got out between giggles, grinning as Maria smacked his arm.

“You like my singing.”

Eddie just gave her a bright smile. 

“Do ya want some hot cocoa?” he asked, reaching forward to pull the door open. A small bell chimed.“Tea or somethin’?”

“Hot cocoa would be nice.” Maria let her hand trail out of Eddie’s as she walked into the little shop, letting it fall on the wall to keep herself steady. 

“I’ll get ya some.” Eddie was about to let the door close, but he stayed to keep it open as he saw two people fast walking towards it, and then--

“Eddie?”

Eddie froze, his grip on the door handle tightening. Maria looked at him, confused, but when she saw who was there she took a step closer to Eddie. 

“Hey, Anne, I uh--” Eddie swallowed. “Hi.” 

“Hi.” Anne didn’t look mad, per say, but she didn’t look thrilled either. “What are you doing here?” 

“Buying food.” Eddie really wanted to close the door. “What else would I be doin’.” 

Anne was just looking at him. 

“How--how are ya doin’? I haven’t seen you in a while.” Eddie’s heart was beating so _fast_. There was no way everyone couldn’t hear it. 

Anne’s face softened just a bit. “I’m fine, Eddie. How about you?”

“It’s uh--could be better, ya know?” Eddie drug his shoe across the floor, his hand twitching against his thigh. “Don’t really have a place to stay or anythin’.”

Oh god, Eddie needed to shut up. He needed to shut up _right now_.

Anne was giving him her _why the hell didn’t you say something_ look. “Eddie--” 

“Hey, sorry about that.” Someone came up next to Anne, slipping his arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then gave Eddie and Maria a bright smile. “Hi!”

“...hi.” Eddie practically squeaked the word out. 

“Eddie, this is Dan.” Anne looked happy as she fell into Dan’s side. “Dan, this is Eddie and…”

“Maria. My friend.” Eddie’s heart was doing something funny. 

“Hey!” Dan seemed to light up, and he held out a hand for Eddie to shake. “I’m a huge fan of your work.”

Eddie took his hand, giving it one firm shake before letting it go. “I—thanks—“ 

“Dan,” Anne smacked Dan’s arm. Dan’s face morphed into something sheepish, and Eddie had to look away. He locked eyes with Maria, and she took a few steps forward to hold onto Eddie’s arm.

“Eddie,” her voice was low, soft, and Eddie turned all his attention to her.

“We gotta go—“

“Right, of course,” Anne was looking at Maria strangely. “Sorry for—it was nice seeing you again.”

Eddie just nodded. He let go of the door and headed to the counter without another word to the two of them. 

“You okay?” Maria held onto him, and Eddie wasn’t sure if was for him or for her.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” 

Maria didn’t look like she believed him, but she let it drop. Eddie breezed through their order--two sugar cookies, a small hot cocoa and a small green tea--giving an apologetic smile to the girl at the register as he gave her several crumpled ones and a five. He could feel Anne looking at him, and he tried his hardest to ignore it as he and Maria stepped off to the side. 

Anne wasn’t going to let him though.

“Since when did you start drinking tea?” She slid up to him as Dan ordered some obnoxious combination of sugar and caffeine. 

_Since I started sucking dick for money_.

Eddie shrugged. “It grew on me.” 

Someone behind the counter called Eddie’s name, and he turned away from Anne to grab the drinks. He handed Maria her hot cocoa as Maria handed him his cookie, and he wrapped his arm around Maria’s shoulder to steady her.

“I’ll see ya around, Anne.” Eddie tried to give her a happy smile, but he was sure it came out bitter. 

Anne’s own smile was small, and she whispered a soft _see you_ as Eddie and Maria left the little bakery. He let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and he leaned against Maria just as much as she was leaning against him. 

“You good?” Maria asked.

“I will be,” Eddie sighed, then bumped his shoulder against Maria’s. “Eat your cookie. You need the sugar.” 

Maria did as Eddie asked. She picked at the cookie like a frail bird, eating slowly and taking small sips from her hot cocoa in between bites. They walked down the busy streets as they ate, and even after Maria had finished her cookie she was still leaning on Eddie and still stumbling.

“Hey, do ya think you could stay with Mrs. Chen tonight?” Eddie kept his voice low, taking the empty paper sleeve from Maria and tossing it in a trashcan as they passed by.

“Eddie, I’m fine--”

“Please?” Eddie slid his arm around her shoulder again, holding her close. “For me?”

Maria stayed silent for a moment. Then she sighed before turning to look at Eddie with a bright smile. “Alright. For you.” 

“You’re the best.” 

“You’re darn right I am.” Maria rolled her eyes, dropping her head back onto Eddie’s shoulder. 

The walk to Mrs. Chen’s didn't take long--Eddie had already been heading there, and he accepted the punch Maria threw at his shoulder with grace. Eddie didn’t get a chance to open the door this time, because Marcus came out the door with his whiskey and stolen money and badly concealed gun just as Eddie went to open it. 

“Hey Brock.” Marcus let his eyes wander over Eddie with a drunken grin. “You working tonight?”

He took a swig from the whiskey bottle. 

“Depends.” Eddie caught the door before it closed, ushering Maria inside. “How much ya willing to pay?” 

“I’ll give ya everything in this bag if ya suck my dick right now.” 

Eddie let the door swing shut. Then he walked back into the alley--far enough in that no one on the streets would see--letting Marcus get handsy and shove him against the wall. Eddie had worse people before, and he dropped to his knees and ignore the pain in his throat for a total of five minutes before he was spitting jizz out of his mouth and taking the paper bag out of Marcus’s hand. 

Eddie ignored Marcus’s calls and walking back into the little convenience store. 

Maria was up on the counter, grimacing as she drank whatever concoction Mrs. Chen had whipped up this time. 

“Here.” Eddie dropped the bag on the counter. 

“Eddie, you didn’t.” Mrs. Chen was frowning.

Eddie just shrugged, licking at his teeth and lips. “Do ya 'ave any tea?”

Mrs. Chen’s frown deepened. Then she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Come upstairs. Both of you.” 

Eddie helped Maria down from the counter. They all squeezed through the small door that was behind the register, Eddie keeping a firm hand on the railing as he brought up the rear. 

Mrs. Chen’s apartment was as small and cozy as it always was, and she led Maria to the spare bedroom, leaving Eddie to loiter in the kitchen. He snooped around for some tea bags--Mrs. Chen always had some lying around--and he had just put the kettle on to boil when she came back in. 

She moved into Eddie’s space, commandeering the kitchen from him and banishing him to the little round table. 

“You don’t have to keep doing this, Eddie.” she was busying herself with throwing together a soup. “I can go without the money.”

“I know that but--but it’s yours. He doesn't just get to take it.” Eddie’s voice cracked somewhere in the middle, and Mrs. Chen turned to him with her _mother mode activated_ look. She pulled some cough drops out of a cupboard, and Eddie popped one in his mouth as soon as it was put in front of him. 

She sat across from him, letting her hand fall on top of his. “You’re too good for this place, Eddie.” 

Eddie stayed silent, pushing the cough drop around in his mouth. “I’m just doin’ the right thing.” 

Mrs. Chen gave him one of her sad smiles. She held his hand in hers for a moment, giving it a soft squeeze before getting up as the kettle whistled. She poured his tea and gave him some soup, watching to make sure he ate and drank all of it. 

When Eddie was done he brought his dishes to the sink. He washed and dried them, and after putting them back in the cupboard he swiped the keys to the store from the counter. 

“I’ll lock up for ya.”

“You’re not going back out, are you?” Mrs. Chen was giving Eddie another one of those _mother mode activated_ looks. 

“I’m just gonna grab Maria’s stuff and some meds.” He gave her a soft smile. “I’ll be right back.” 

“You’d better, young man.” Mrs. Chen scowled. 

“I promise.” Eddie kissed her cheek, then skipped back down the stairs. He put the money back in the register, locked it up, shut the lights off, then went back outside and locked the door. He took a deep breath before heading back down the street, but he didn’t get very far before he was stopped.

“Hello!” He looked like a college student, and he looked way to happy for this time of night. “I’m with the Life Foundation--”

“I’m not interested.” Eddie pushed past him.

“No, I think you are.” The kids voice dropped, and Eddie turned back around in surprise. The look on the kids face scared Eddie, but then he was smiling again and shoving a flyer in Eddie’s hands. “We’re conducting a set of trials that we need participants for! You’ll be paid, of course, and if your interested you can call here.”

Eddie tuned him out as he looked at the flyer. It was a bunch of fine print and legal nonsense, and then he saw the payment amount and his eyes widened. 

Jesus _shit_ that was a lot of money. 

“Sir?”

Eddie snapped back up to look at the kid. He had to be an intern, there was no way he was old enough to work at the labs. 

“I’ll uh--I’ll think about it.” Eddie shoved the paper in his jacket pocket and walked away as quickly as he could. 

Two thousand a day for--for what? Sitting in a lab while he got poked and prodded? It was a hell of a lot better than what he was doing now, but would he really--?

Eddie’s hand twitched and he shoved them in his pockets. With that he could get Maria actual medication--

“Hey there, pretty boy.” 

Eddie’s head snapped up. It was a woman, and older one, one Eddie didn’t know. 

“You working tonight?”

Eddie’s hand curled around the paper in his pocket. He squeezed, shoved it deeper in his pocket, then let it go.

“For you?” He gave her a charming smile. “Always.”


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a week, and Eddie still had that damn flyer crumpled in his jacket pocket. 

“You’re staying here tonight.” The tone Mrs. Chen had didn’t leave Eddie any room to really argue. “You’ve been out every single night his week—“ she put a mug of tea in front of Eddie, sliding it across the table until he took it. “It’s not good for your health.”

“It’s just sex.” Eddie grumbled.

Mrs. Chen narrowed her eyes, and Eddie flinched back. “I don’t care. You look like shit, Eddie.” 

“And you look as beautiful as always.” Eddie mumbled, bringing the mug to his lips. It was hot, and Eddie was quick to pull it away.

“Eddie—“

“Fine! Fine, I’ll stay ‘ere tonight.” Eddie blew the steam away from the mug, clasping it between his hands. The ceramic was warm, and Eddie held it a little tighter as he blew away more steam and heat. “Ya better feed me though.”

Mrs. Chen shook her head and rolled her eyes, turning back to the stove. She was making stir-fry tonight, and it smelled absolutely intoxicating. 

“Go get Maria up, dinner is almost ready.” the pan sizzled as she pushed all the meat and vegetables around. 

Eddie took a tentative sip from his tea--it was still hot--then set the mug down and pushed his chair back. He left the kitchen and padded down the hall and up the stairs, gently pushing open the door to the spare room. The lights were off, the heat was cranked up and the mound of blankets on the bed shifted as the hall light hit it.

“Good evening, sleepy head.” Eddie sat on the edge of the bed, giving Maria a soft smile.

Maria blinked slowly at him, poking her head out from the blankets. “Did I really sleep that long?”

“Ya needed it.” Was all Eddie said. 

Maria hadn’t been well these past few days. Mrs. Chen had kept her at the apartment and Eddie brought food and medication back every night, but the over the counter pills Eddie usually got just seemed to stop working. He needed an actual prescription and a doctors appointment, but he just couldn’t afford it.

Eddie thought of the flyer in his jacket pocket. 

“Mrs. Chen’s got stir-fry downstairs.” Eddie held out his arms, helping Maria out from under her mound of blankets. “Ya should eat a little bit of it.”

“Yeah, okay.” 

Maria leaned against Eddie as she swung her legs out from under the covers. She reached out a hand to hold one of Eddie's own, and Eddie held it tight as it trembled against his. He hooked an arm around her waist, keeping a steady hold on her as they went back down the hall and down the stairs. 

The kitchen smelled wonderful, and the sent of meat and vegetables and spices seemed to perk Maria up. 

“It smells really good, Mrs. Chen.” 

“Thank you, Maria.” Mrs. Chen pulled out a chair for Maria and set a glass of water in front of her, then looked to Eddie with raised eyebrows. “Drink your tea, Eddie.”

“I am.” Eddie grumbled, taking his own seat and clasping the mug between his hands. It was still warm, but it wasn’t as scalding as it was before. He took a small sip, giving a soft hum when it didn’t burn his tongue. 

It was sweet; raspberry and honey and something else Eddie couldn’t quite place. 

A plate was placed in front of him, then a fork and spoon, then Mrs. Chen was placing bowls of food on the table and letting everyone run wild. Eddie found himself having to coax Maria into eating what she put on her plate, and in the end he managed to get her to eat most everything while he hardly touched his plate. 

Mrs. Chen walked with Maria back upstairs, leaving Eddie to pick at his own food. It had gone lukewarm, but Eddie was much too hungry to care.

“She’s asleep.” Eddie looked up as Mrs. Chen sat in her vacant chair. She gave a soft sigh, bringing her fingers to her temple and rubbing at the skin. “What are we going to do, Eddie?” 

Eddie swallowed, setting his fork back on the plate. 

Mrs. Chen looked exhausted. She looked tired and worn and ragged, for the first time since Eddie met her she actually looked her age. 

Eddie reached out a hand, gently letting it lay atop hers. “I--I know how I can get--”

“Eddie, no--”

“ ‘old on.” Eddie stood, making his way toward the coat rack by the kitchen doorway. He fished around in his jacket pocket, pulling out the crumpled flyer. He unfolded it gently, rereading the words as he slowly made his way back to Mrs. Chen. He set the flyer down in front of her and slid back into his seat. 

Mrs. Chen gingerly picked it up, her eyes narrowing further and further as she read through it. 

Finally she looked up, and Eddie was sure she would have slammed the paper down if she could have.

“You can’t do this.” 

“It’s a lot of money--”

“They ruined your life.” Mrs. Chen was scowling.

“Yeah, but I care a lot more about you two then I do that.” Eddie clenched his hand before letting it relax. “It’ll be fine-- _I’ll be fine_. I’ll get the money sent to you and Maria can get actual medical care and you can ‘ave what’s left.” 

Mrs. Chen looked back down at the flyer. Her fingers curled in, and Eddie reached across the table to hold her hands. 

“I don’t like it, Eddie.” Mrs. Chen’s voice was soft, and she squeezed Eddie’s hands.

“I know, but what else are we gonna do?” Eddie squeezed back. “If Maria’s gonna die I at least want her to have a fighting chance.” 

They both knew that Maria was sicker than she was letting on. They knew she was trying to hide it so they wouldn’t worry so much, but it didn’t matter how hard Maria tried. Eddie had been to enough hospitals and sick beds and death beds in his lifetime to know what it looked like when someone was dying. 

And Maria was dying. 

“I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I?” 

Eddie gave Mrs. Chen a small smile. “No, probably not.” 

Mrs. Chen sighed softly, letting go of one of Eddie’s hands to raise her own. She gently placed it on his cheek, cupping his jaw as she ran her thumb across his skin. Eddie closed his eyes and leaned into it, and soon he found his eyes stinging and wet and he was trying so hard not to cry.

“At least stay here tonight, okay?” 

Eddie sniffed. “Yeah, okay.” 

 

\--

 

The next day Eddie found himself standing outside the doors to the Life Foundation, clutching the flyer in his hands. 

He took a deep breath, then shoved open the doors with way more force than was necessary and they clacked against the wall. It felt good though, and he ignored the security guard's glare as he walked up to the front desk. 

He lost any and all confidence he had when the secretary looked up at him over the rim of her glasses.

“Can I help you, sir?” 

“I, uh--” Eddie clutched the paper a little tighter. “I want to sign up for the--for the trials--?”

The secretary blinked once, then looked back down at her computer. “Name?” 

“Eddie Brock.”

She paused in her typing. Eddie swallowed harshly, but she continued on a moment later. 

“If you’ll sit over there, Mr. Brock, I’ll have someone come out for you in a few minutes.” She gestured to a plush looking seating area, and Eddie nodded as he quickly scampered away. 

He found it a little odd that she hadn’t asked which trial--the Life Foundation always had several scientific trials going on at any time, and it was strange that she hadn’t asked which one. 

Before Eddie had time to really dwell on it, let alone sit down, someone was coming out of a side door with a bright smile on.

“Mr. Brock?” She held out a hand for Eddie to take. “I'm Dora Skirth, one the of lead scientists on the Symbiotic trials.” 

Eddie took her hand, giving it a firm shake before quickly letting it go.

It was cold and clammy. 

“If you’ll come back with me, we’ll get the paperwork filled out so you can start right away.” She didn’t give him a chance to argue. As soon as Eddie opened his mouth to say something she was holding open the door and waving him though, closing it rather harshly behind them and herding him though the hall. 

There were no windows. Just a long hall with close walls and tan paint. 

They went up an elevator and down another hall, then stopped in front of an office door about halfway down the hall. Dr. Skirth placed a hand on the door handle, and Eddie couldn’t help but notice how tightly she was holding it. “Mr. Drake will walk you through the process while I get the papers.”

“Wait, what--” 

Again Eddie didn’t get a chance to argue. Dr. Skirth pulled open the door and shoved him though, and before he could even turn around it was slammed shut. 

“Hi, Eddie.” Carlton Drake was giving Eddie a pleasant smile, but Eddie’s eyes were drawn towards the windows and the San Francisco bay that was stretched out before him. “Would you care to sit?”

“No, I’m good.” 

Eddie didn’t realize they had gone this high up.

Drake looked behind him. “A beautiful view, isn’t it?”

Eddie swallowed. “That’s one word for it.” 

He slowly stepped back, the back of his knees knocking into a chair. He caught himself before he fell, and he straightened up and tore his eyes away from the window. They landed on an abstract painting of _something_ , and that’s where they stayed.

Drake cleared his throat. “Bethany--my secretary--tells me you want to sign up for our Symbiotic trials.” 

Eddie nodded.

“I’m glad to see you finally take an interest in our scientific research.” Drake stood, and he took his time circling around his desk. 

“I’m just ‘ere for the money.” Eddie finally tore his eyes off the painting to glare at Drake. “Not your bullshit science.” 

Drake just let the words roll off him. “You have been down on your luck, haven’t you?” 

“The money’s not for me.”

“No?” Drake cocked his head. “Who's it for then, Eddie?” 

Eddie ignored him, dragging his eyes back to the painting. 

“Well, either way,” Drake was now just inches away from Eddie. His hands were clasped behind his back and he still had that stupid smile on his face. “You’re finally back here, and I don’t intend things to end the way they did before.”

“Don’t--don’t phrase it like that.” Eddie mumbled it, taking another step back. 

Drake took another step closer, but someone knocked at the door. Eddie jumped back, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at the wall as Dr. Skirth came back in.

“I have the papers, sir.” Dr. Skirth handed Drake a thin manila file, gave Eddie a tight lipped smile, then ducked back out of the room. 

“Well then,” Drake straightened up, walking back to his desk. He set the file down, peeling it open and rifling through the papers till he found the one he wanted. He set it gently down on the desk, placing a pen atop it as he looked back up at Eddie. “All I need is your signature, Eddie. Then we can get started.” 

Eddie swallowed, taking slow steps towards the desk. “Ya never told me what this trial was about.” 

“That’ll ruin the surprise, won't it?” Drake pushed the paper a little closer to Eddie. 

If that wasn’t a red flag, Eddie didn’t know what was. Yet he still picked up the pen, thinking of Maria and her pale skin and frail hands. He thought of her smiles and laughs, of all the times he wrapped an arm around her waist or held her hair as she threw up what little she had in her stomach into toilets and dumpsters. 

Eddie scribbled his name before he could back out. 

“Wonderful.” That stupid smile was back on Drake’s lips, and he took the paper back from Eddie and tucked it into the folder. “There’s a bit more paperwork to fill out, but we can do that down in the labs.”

He snapped the folder shut and held it close to his chest, coming out from behind the desk. “If you’ll follow me, Eddie.” 

Eddie was, again, not really given a choice. He followed Drake down the hall and to an elevator and down more halls and stairs, pausing as Drake pushed open the final door to the labs.

“Well, this is pleasant.” 

“In here, please.” Drake ushered Eddie into the room. It was cold and bright and metallic, and Eddie looked around with wide eyes at the compartments and cells. “You can finish the paperwork while you wait for Dr. Skirth.” 

The file and a pen was pushed into Eddies hands, then he was left alone. 

“Right, that’s--okay then.” Eddie held the file and pen close to his chest as he looked around the room. There wasn’t a chair anywhere, so Eddie went over to a counter and pushed himself up onto it. The metal was just as cold as it looked like, and Eddie let a shiver run down his spine before cracking open the file. 

He skimmed over the contract he had just signed--he didn’t understand a bit of it, but that was his fault, he supposed, for always letting Anne read over all his contracts--then flipped to the next piece of paper. This one was for the bank account the money would be sent to, and he filled that one out with Mrs. Chen’s information. The next paper was about his medical history, and he had just finished marking the last box when Dr. Skrith knocked and came in. 

“Hello, Mr. Brock.” She seemed even more nervous then before, and she took the papers and file from him and exchanged it for a thin cotton hospital gown. “I’ll need you to change into this.” 

“...Alrigh’.” 

Dr. Skirth at least had the grace to turn around as Eddie changed. He watched her as he slipped into the hospital gown, then he was being pushed out of the room and ushered into one of those clear cells he had been looking at before. 

“Hello again, Eddie.” Drake was on the other side of the glass, hands clasped behind his back. Eddie was looking at him, but Drake wasn’t looking at Eddie, and when he followed Drake’s line of sight his eyes went wide and the air left his lungs.

“What the _fuck_ is that?” 

“We call them symbiotes.” Drake’s voice filtered through the speaker as the black mass threw itself against the capsule it was in. “They can’t survive without a human host in our atmosphere--the chemicals we breathe in are harmful to them without the filtration human lungs offer.” 

The capsule the symbiote was in shuttered as it threw itself against the glass again. 

“They require a near perfect genetic match to them for their hosts.” Drake continued on. “It’s a lot like an organ transplant--if it doesn't match, it’s rejected and dies. We’ve yet to find a suitable match for this particular symbiote, but hopefully our losing streak with end with you.” 

“Now wait just a fucking--” 

Drake stepped back and the capsule opened. The symbiote flung itself to the wall Eddie was standing against, crawling up it and around Eddie’s neck. Eddie stopped breathing as it touched his skin, eyes going wide.

It was...it was _warm_. 

Then it sunk beneath his skin, and Eddie could feel something moving between the skin and muscle, around his ribs and chest and legs and arms before finally coming to rest around his heart. 

Then the world exploded with noise. 

“Shit!” Eddie jumped away from the wall and crashed into the bed, falling to the floor and he brought his hands up to cover his ears. 

Everything was so _loud_. He could hear static and buzzing and voices and lungs expanding and hearts beating and people swallowing and cars and ships and the waves crashing against the cliff side and his name being whispered over and over again. 

 

**Eddie Eddie Eddie Eddie Eddie--!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya know, I meant to have this up last night, but then I started watching Star Trek and when I start watching Star Trek I tend to not stop


	3. Chapter 3

Eddie didn’t remember passing out or falling asleep. 

He must have, though, because when he woke up he was in a bed in a different cell wearing different clothes and he slammed his head into a wall that wasn’t there before as he jolted up. 

“Shit—!” He hissed as pain exploded across his skull, but before he could slap a hand to his temple the pain was gone. 

Eddie froze, his hand held halfway between the bed and him. 

Then an alarm went off, and Eddie jumped and almost threw himself off the bed. 

“Jesus fucking—“ 

It was a soft beeping, but it seemed so _loud_ to Eddie. He pressed himself against the wall, bringing his knees to his chest and burying his head in his arms. The beeping kept going, and Eddie pressed his hands to his head and growled and curled up tighter on himself and he just wanted the noise to _go away_.

“Just shut UP!” Eddie slammed his fist into the keypad by his bed. It cracked and splintered underneath him, pieces of plastic and metal flying across the room. 

The beeping stopped. 

Eddie drew his hand back to his side, clenching and unclenching his fist.

There was nothing. No blood, no broken skin, no _nothing_. 

“What the hell?” Eddie whispered it soft enough that he almost didn’t hear it. He twisted his hand around, the IV line was still in his arm but there was just—

Nothing. 

“Go inform Mr. Drake that host four has woken up.” Eddie snapped his head up. A man Eddie didn’t remember seeing was standing outside his cell with Dr. Skirth, writing something on his clipboard. “He doesn't want us to do anything to the host until he checks him out.”

“Yes, of course.” Dr. Skirth wouldn’t look at Eddie. She typed something out on the tablet she was holding, keeping her eyes glued to the screen long after she was done typing. “He’ll be down in a moment.”

The man nodded, then he and Dr. Skirth were walking away. 

“ ‘ey, wait--!” Eddie jumped up off the bed, his palms slapping against the glass. “Wait just a sec--!” 

They were already gone. 

Eddie scowled, slamming his fist against the glass in agitation. It shuddered underneath him, and Eddie punched it again for good measure. Then he fell back on the bed, bouncing for a moment as the springs tried to cushion his fall. He sighed at the same time his stomach gave a low growl.

**Hungry**

Eddie shot back up. 

**Food**

He looked wildly around the cell. “I--I don’t--what?” 

“Eddie, I’m glad to see you’re awake.” Eddie snapped his head back towards the glass. Dr. Skirth was standing next to Drake, but the man from before was gone. “You gave us quite the scare.” 

“ _I_ gave you a scare?” 

“You were out for two days. We couldn’t get you to wake up.” Drake gave him a strained smile. 

Eddie blinked dumbly.

“How are you feeling, Eddie?” Drake asked.

“I--” his stomach growled again.

**Eddie, hungry**

“Did you hear that?” Eddie looked behind him. There was no one there, no speakers that he could see, and the only thing that made noise in the cell was lying on the ground in pieces. 

Drake tilted his head. “Hear what?” 

“That--that voice--” Eddie looked back to Drake. “You didn’t hear that?” 

Drake blinked at him, then turned to Dr. Skirth. He was whispering to her, too softly for Eddie to hear. He caught something about full body scans, and everything else he heard was some scientific jargon he didn’t know nor cared to know. 

Something squirmed in his chest, and Eddie raised a hand to press at it. 

“I’ll send someone in to check your vitals, Eddie.” Drake was talking to him again. “That way we can calibrate our system to read you.” 

Eddie didn't say anything. He watched Dr. Skirth walk away first, then locked eyes with Drake until he, too, left. Eddie blinked, then looked back down at his hands, curling and uncurling his fingers until it hurt.

Two days. He was out for two days.

“Jesus Christ.” Eddie mumbled, curling his fingers again as the pain went away. “What did they do to you, Brock?” 

Mrs. Chen must be worrying herself sick by now. 

“Mr. Brock?” Eddie jumped. A lab technician was standing outside the door, clipboard and pen in hands. “I’m going to come in.” 

Eddie stayed on the bed, crossing his arms high over his chest and squeezing them tight as that voice whispered again.

**Food**

The technician--he couldn’t have been more that twenty five--set his clipboard down on the floor and knelt next to Eddie’s bed. He had a stethoscope around his neck and a blood pressure cuff in his hand. “Arm, please.”

Eddie held it out, and as soon as the technician--Stan, his badge read--reached for it something yanked it back to his chest. 

“I--I’m sorry, I didn’t--” Eddie paused, looking at Stan. He cocked his head, leaning closer to the technician. He smelled ,em>really good, and Eddie lifted a hand to his neck to pull him closer. Eddie leaned just a little closer, and when he started to think about how nice it would be to sink his teeth in his neck and lick along the bone of his jaw Eddie abruptly pulled away. 

The technician was staring at him with wide eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” Eddie ducked his head down, blinking away something that was in his eye and holding out his arm. 

Eddie didn’t look up as his blood pressure was taken, and he kept his head down as the stethoscope was pressed to his chest and back. The metal was cold, and Eddie found himself leaning into it just a little too much. 

“Well that’s that.” Stan was quick to pull away, while Eddie was a little slower to stop himself from chasing the coolness of the metal. 

Eddie swallowed while Stan blinked dumbly. “I uh—what’s—what’s the IV in my arm for?”

“It’s pumping fluids and nutrients in you.” Stan was at the door already while the technician outside had a hand on the panel that opened the door. “We couldn’t exactly feed you.” 

“Right, yeah—right.” Eddie took a deep breath. He hadn’t realized how warm it was in here. “Will they take it out?”

“You’ll have to ask Dr. Skirth about that.” 

And just like that he was bolting out the door and scampering away. 

Eddie frowned, clenching his fist as he looked down at the IV. 

**Not enough**

Eddie took a sharp breath. “Okay, so we’re hearing voices now. That’s fine—that’s totally fine—I can work with that—“

Eddie yelped as he was thrown off the bed. There was nothing for him to grab onto, so he stumbled into the glass with a loud thud. The people milling about the lab looked over to him, and Eddie gave them a smile and a wave as he peeled himself off the door. 

“What the hell?” Eddie looked at his hands as he starting pacing. He noticed the IV had been ripped out, but there was no tear in his skin. “What the actual _hell_?” 

Eddie brought his hands up, pressing them against his skull before running his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t stop pacing, his stomach hurt, he could feel something squirming and pulsing in his chest, he was sweating and he was _hot_. 

“Eddie?”

Eddie seemed to snap up and recoil back at the same time. 

“Eddie, are you alright?” Eddie hadn’t noticed the Drake had come back. He was standing outside the cell with Dr. Skirth, a look of genuine concern on his face. 

“I don’t--I don’t know--” Eddie’s pacing got faster, and he dropped one hand to his side while the other kept running through his hair. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

“You’re a host to a symboite.” Drake’s eyes wouldn’t stop following him. “While you are adjusting better than everyone else your body still needs time, as does the symboite. It’s a give and take relationship, and right now the symboite is the one who has to take--”

“Yeah no i’m pretty sure you put a fucking pa--” Eddie cut himself off. He swallowed, then he was heading back towards the glass faster than he should have been able to move, slamming his hand against the door. “FOOD. I NEED—“ 

Something in his throat seized, and he gave a strangled choke. His fingers scrapped the glass as he curled his hand to a fist, then he fell against the glass and slid to the floor. He was shaking and sweaty and so fucking hot, and he dug his fingers into the sleeves of the shirt as he held himself. “Please—please I need food.”

“Get him some food.” Drake snapped at someone, and Eddie watched a lab technician scuttle away before looking back to the floor.

Jesus _Christ_ he was so god damn _hot_.

Eddie dug his fingers in the hem of the shirt and pulled it off. He threw it into a corner--he thought, anyway. He didn’t know, he didn’t _care_ \--throwing himself back against the glass as the technician came back. 

The technician jumped back. 

Eddie got to his feet, keeping his eyes locked on the plate. There was fish, he could see that--from the cafeteria, maybe, Eddie didn’t know nor did he really care. He didn’t know what else was on the plate, all he cared about was the meat. 

“Bring it in to him.” Drake stepped aside, nodding to someone else to open the door. 

The door opened just enough so the technician could slip in, then closed immediately. 

She turned around, panicked, then shrieked as Eddie snatched the plate from her. The sound it it grated on Eddie’s ears, and he shushed her as he held the plate close to his chest.

“Dont--don’t make that sound again.” he spat it out, turning around to inspect what was on the plate.

Eddie flicked the rice and vegetables off--he didn’t want those--then picked up the fish. It looked decent enough and smelled alright, but his stomach had that kind of hurt that only eating something would fix and Eddie couldn’t really care less on the state of the meat in his hands.

Eddie shoved the fish in his mouth and bit off a chunk. 

He chewed once, twice, then spit it back out.

“This is dead.” Eddie growled it out in a voice that was too deep to be his, rounding back on the technician. “ _Why is it dead_?”

“I--I don’t--” 

_**“But you are not.”** _

Eddie took a step forward while dropping the plate. It shattered, the ceramic pieces scattering across the floor. He kicked them out of the way, walking closer until he had the technician pressed up against the glass. 

She was begging them to open the door.

_**“Will you shut up?”**_ he dug his fingers in her scrubs and pulled her forward. His mouth hurt and something sharp was poking his lips, making them bleed.

“Please--please don’t--”

Eddie dug his teeth into her neck, bit down, and ripped out whatever was in his mouth. 

Someone screamed. 

Eddie chewed and swallowed, and just as he was about to take another bite he threw the body--because that’s what it was now--and fell to his knees as he threw up what he just swallowed. 

“Oh god--” Eddie groaned and wiped at his mouth. “What the fuck--?” 

He caught sight of the body again, and Eddie found his own body moving itself towards it because he _still wanted to eat it_.

He didn’t get very far. Security had come into the cell, and some had started hauling him back while others went to the body.

_**“NO!”**_ Eddie screamed, but it wasn't his voice. _**“WE NEED FOOD--!”**_

Eddie roared as something sharp went into his neck. A black tendril shot out from his back and flung the man off him. Eddie heard something snap and crunch, but before he could round on the other’s the drug that had been pushed into his system kicked in. He swayed and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he caught sight of Drake grinning before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya know, this wasn't supposed to be up this soon but my phone finally took a shit on me (you couldn't have waited two more weeks when i would be home???) so i had to go out a buy a new one yesterday so I've just been typing this out in my frustration
> 
> but i mean, ya know. I do have to have a function phone. seeing as how I go to college in another state.


	4. Chapter 4

Eddie snapped awake. 

“Oh my fucking--” Eddie shot up, ignoring the sharp spike of pain at the back of his head. “I just _ate someone_ \--”

**We needed food**

Eddie screamed. He went toppling backwards and off the cot, but before he could crack his head against the floor something caught him and pulled him back up. 

**You need to be more careful**

Eddie blinked slowly, watching as a black slime slowly sunk back into his arms. “What the _fuck_?”

**We needed food, Eddie**

“So you _ate someone_?!” Eddie was not panicking. He wasn’t going to panic. He just had a—a parasite or something. He was sick, he couldn’t control what he was doing—hell, this was probably all just in his head—

**Would you rather I eat you?**

“Excuse me?” Eddie reeled back. “What do ya mean _eat me_?”

**You have a rather tasty looking liver. Unfortunately I need you alive**

Something squirmed around Eddies heart and over his ribs. Eddie brought a hand up to his chest and pressed down, but whatever it was kept moving. 

**You are a near perfect host. I cannot afford to lose you**

“Oh. That’s—that’s nice,” Eddie swallowed. There was a buzzing at the back of his skull. “I’m—I’m sorry, can we get back to the part where I _ate someone_?” 

**You did not eat them. I did**

“Her _throat_ was in my _mouth_!” Eddies heartbeat was getting faster, his breaths more shallow. He was starting to panic when he said he wouldn’t, and now he couldn’t seem to stop. He was shaking and sweating and everything was spinning and he couldn’t make it _stop_. “Oh god—oh my fucking god—“ 

He pressed himself back up against the wall. He felt like he needed to throw up, but there was nothing in his stomach _to_ throw up. Eddie gagged anyway. 

**What are you doing?** The voice sounded panicked, and Eddie could feel that mass moving through his chest and his body at a frantic pace. **Stop that**

And Eddie did. 

Just as quickly as it started it stopped, and Eddie was left with a strange sense of calm. 

“You’re awake.” Eddie looked up to see Drake standing outside the cell. Eddie swallowed, curling tighter in on himself. “It was only a few hours this time, nothing to lose any sleep over.” 

“I just killed someone.” Eddie mumbled it.

Drake waved his hand, keeping a pleasant smile on his lips. “It’s no large loss. All in the name of science, as they say, Eddie.” 

Eddie wanted to press himself further against the wall. He was already as close to the wall as he could get, so he pulled his legs tighter to his chest.

“Now, if you’ve calmed down, I’d like to run some tests.” Drake leaned over to whisper to someone--a security guard, by the looks of it. They both nodded something, and then Drake was fixing Eddie with another smile as the guard skirted away with a radio in hand.

**Do not let him take you anywhere**

Eddie really wished he could back up further. “I’d rather say in here, thanks.” 

Drake’s smile faltered, but it came back just as fast as it left. “I’m afraid this isn’t an option, Eddie.” 

The door buzzed open.

**NO**

Eddie was yanked back as a few security members came in, the brick on the wall cracking under the impact. 

It hardly mattered though, because Eddie was thrown down and wrapped up in someone's arms, and before either he or the thing inside him could fight back there was another needle being jammed in his neck. Eddie gasped as the cold liquid froze his veins, and he got in one good squirm and kick before he went limp. 

“It’s just a mild paralytic drug, Eddie, nothing to worry about.” Drake was in the cell now, that stupid smile still plastered on his face. “I just need to keep the symboite still, that’s all.” 

Drake lifted a hand, letting his fingers run down Eddie’s cheek. He was gentle, letting his thumb glide across the cheek bone as he cupped Eddie’s jaw in his palm. “You’re so perfect for this.” 

A myriad of emotions crossed Drake’s face. 

Eddie wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t get his muscles to cooperate with him. He could only stare, watching Drake as Drake watched him. 

“C block labs.” Drake dropped his hand, the warmth on Eddie’s cheek fading and leaving it cold. “Now.” 

Eddie wasn’t even placed on a gurney or stretcher or anything. He was just fucking carried there, then placed on an MRI bed and strapped down so tight that he could feel the canvas of the straps digging into his skin deep enough to hurt. He still couldn’t move, so the purpose of the straps completely eluded him. 

“I’ll make this quick, Eddie. I promise.” Drake dropped his hand on Eddie’s thigh and squeezed, letting his fingers linger. “Whenever you’re ready, Dr. Skirth.”

Eddie could only stare at him as he left the room.

There was a soft whirring, and Eddie was gently pulled into the machine. He swallowed sharply as soft elevator music came through the speakers, which served as a surprisingly fitting background noise for Drake’s voice. 

“Just take a deep breath for me, Eddie.” his voice was strangely melodic. “It’ll be over in a few minutes.” 

Then there was noise. 

Lots of noise.

Lots of _painful_ noise. 

Eddie thought he was screaming. His mouth was open, but he couldn’t tell if sound was coming out. He couldn’t move, but something in him was moving, trying to cling to his bones as it was being ripped out of his skin. He could see the black slime on his skin again, shaking, morphing, trying to hang on. Something wet was on his cheeks. He was crying, he thought. It felt like he was being ripped apart. _He still couldn’t move._

It felt like it ended in seconds. It felt like it went on forever. 

Eddie was spasming as they pulled him out of the machine. He wanted to throw up. He couldn’t move his throat, couldn’t swallow.

“Get him back to his cell, and get him some food. Something with a lot of carbs. The drug will be wearing off soon.” Drake was back in the room, and he was looking at Eddie with regret. “I’m sorry that I had to do this to both of you.” 

Eddie couldn’t look at him. 

They took off the straps, leaving angry red welts behind. They carried him back, setting him back on the cot none too gently. Someone pulled a blanket over him, and someone left a plate of food on the floor by the cot. The plastic and metal and ceramic and brick he shattered was gone.

He still couldn’t move. 

**Eddie?**

The thing inside him was moving sluggishly. It went up his body, curled around his heart. 

**I’m sorry**

Eddie was still crying. 

**Sound hurts us**

Eddie could move his arm. He brought it to his chest, right over his heart. The thing was still there, curled up protectively, like it didn’t want to let go.

“Why?” Eddie’s voice cracked. 

**Disrupts the bond. Rips us apart**

“I shouldn’t have done this.” Eddie jerked his body till he was curled up, holding the blanket close to his chin. “I shouldn’t have _fucking_ done this.”

There was silence. He could feel the thing slink up his spine, and then--

**Maria**

“She’s dying anyway. I can’t--I can’t save her and it’s not fucking--” Then he paused. “How--how do you know that?”

**I can see. Through your memories**

“Right. Of course you can.” Eddie curled up tighter. He wasn’t twitching as much. His cheeks felt cold and sticky. “You can see me, but I can’t see you.” 

**You can see me, if you wish**

Eddie felt that slime pouring out of his skin. It was warm, it moved sluggishly, it felt good against his skin. He wanted to grab it and hold onto it, let it sooth away the tension and the pain. It was forming slowly by his head. First eyes, large and white, then teeth, then a smile.

“What the hell are you?” Eddie should probably be afraid. He was too tired to be afraid.

It narrowed its eyes at him. It was silent for a moment, tilting its head like it was thinking. **“...Venom. You may call me Venom.”**

The thing, Venom, Eddie supposed, froze up. It looked wildly around the cell, then sunk back into Eddie’s skin more quickly than when it came out. 

“Who are you talking to?”

Eddie didn’t look up. He didn’t want to look at Drake.

“My parasite.” he mumbled. 

**Parasite?!**

“You mean the symboite?” Eddie pulled the blanket higher over himself. “Eddie, that’s incredible! Only two days, and you’ve achieved almost perfect symbosis!” 

“Yeah. Sure.” Eddie swallowed back something that felt a lot like tears. He pulled the blanket back enough to glance at Drake. “The money is going to Maria, right?”

“It’s going where you told us to send it.” Drake took a step closer, and Eddie quickly pulled the blanket back over him. 

There was silence again, long enough for Eddie to think that Drake had gone. 

“You should eat, Eddie. It will help you recover faster.” 

Eddie scoffed. 

“I wish I didn’t have to do that. I really do, but we need to see how far the symboite has spread through your body.” Drake’s shoes clacked against the floor, the sound getting closer to the cell. 

**I will not let him do it to us again**

“And? How far has it spread?” he snapped it out, the words grating on his sore throat.

“Throughout your entire body.” The clacking got closer again. “Eddie, do you realize how incredible this is?” 

Eddie didn’t say anything. He rolled over so he was facing the wall, curling up as tightly as he could. The pain was gone now. Venom must have recovered enough to fix it--at least, Eddie thought it was Venom taking the pain away. He didn’t know who else or what else could be doing it. 

“You really should eat, Eddie.” 

Shoes were clanking against concrete again. Eddie waited long after the sound was gone before peeking out from underneath the blanket. 

Drake was gone. They were all gone. 

Eddie slowly sat up, keeping the blanket tight around his shoulders. He picked the plate up off the floor--there was some meat, a few fruits and a lot of potatoes. Eddie picked up the fork and went for the potato first. It was mashed, and probably the only thing on the plate he could keep down. 

He took a small bite, chewed, then swallowed. 

He was in the middle of his second bite when Venom spoke again.

**This is good**

“It’s potato.” Eddie swallowed. It was still hard to so. 

**It’s Phenylethylamine. We need it to survive**

“That’s...good to know, I guess.” Eddie had no idea what Phenylethylamine was.

He took another bite, then another. Before he realized it he had finished the entire thing. He set the plate back down, then picked up the glass of water. He downed that, set it back down, then fell back on the cot and cocooned himself in the blanket. 

He closed his eyes.

**Eddie?**

“I’m going to sleep,” Eddie squeezed his eyes tighter. “And pretend that none of this is happening.”

Venom stilled. It did a slow sweep of his body before coming to rest again around his heart. 

It was an oddly comforting weight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block: hey Adam  
> Me: what?  
> Writers block: So you know how its exam week, right?  
> Me: yeah?  
> Writers block: And you know that you need to study, right?  
> Me:...yeah?  
> Writers block: And you know how you've been trying to write this chapter?  
> Me: don't do this man  
> Writers block: Oh we're gonna do it  
> Me:...  
> Writers block: better start writing before I come back
> 
>  
> 
> ((i've been in those MRI machines and let me tell you, it's not fun. they also take a hell of a lot longer than just the few minutes Eddie was in for. Like, hour and a half longer. they played my pandora station tho, so that was a plus.))


	5. Chapter 5

Venom had mostly stayed in Eddies skin, slinking around and coming to curl around his heart whenever Drake or someone else came near. 

Eddie wasn’t sure if it was because he was scared, or if he just didn’t have the strength to come out again. Either way it was no conquince to Eddie, because the longer Venom stayed put the longer Drake and his scientists stayed away. 

“Are you scared of them?” Eddie had asked it a few days after their first encounter, when Venom had sunk back into his pores as a nurse walked by the cell. 

**You are**

Eddie scowled. “That’s not—“

**I am not scared of them, Eddie. I am weary**

Eddie snapped his mouth shut. He remembered Drake telling him something a few days ago, that he was the first human host that had actually lived past the three day mark, that that was why they were keeping such a close watch on him. 

_“You’re special, Eddie. We don’t want to lose you.”_

**You die, I die**

“I'm pretty sure they’re not gonna kill me.”

**You, no. But they have killed my kind** Eddie could feel Venom slinking up and down his body. **Didn’t know how harmful sound was to us at first. Starved us, forced us to eat our host to survive**

Eddie swallowed. “I—shit—“

**That is why we ate her. I did not want to eat you**

Eddie bit his lip, bringing his legs up to his chest as he pushed himself against the wall. 

He knew what it was like to go hungry. He knew that gnawing pain in your stomach that came from days with little food, the way you would eat anything that came your way just to make the ache go away. And to be hungry enough to the point where you would--to actually be _starving_ \--

“--shit.”

**So you’ve said**

“I didn’t even think that--”

**You humans don’t ever think**

Eddie skwaked in protest. He could feel Venom vibrate in his chest, then he was forming from Eddie’s shoulder, those large white eyes staring into his own. **“That’s what makes your planet such a suitable place for us.”**

Eddie blinked. “...what?”

Venom didn’t say anything else though. He sunk back below Eddie’s skin, twisting around his heart and squeezing.

“So they are able to take a humanoid form.” Drake drug his eyes away from Eddie’s shoulder to lock his eyes with Eddie’s. “Fascinating, don’t you think?” 

“I think that depends entirely on your definition of fascinating.” Eddie sucked in a deep breath. He hadn’t even realized Drake was there.

Drake huffed out a laugh. “Can you ask them to come out again?”

Eddie brought his hand up to his chest, placing it just above his heart. “He’s camera shy.” 

Drake’s smile faltered. “Yes, well.” He cleared his throat, dropping his hands from behind his back to rest at his sides. 

“Sorry.” Eddie shrugged. 

“Does he talk to you?” Drake asked. 

Eddie looked away. “All the time.”

**You are a decent conversation**

Eddie snorted. His hand flew up to cover his mouth, but he couldn’t quite stifle his laughter. Drake arched an eyebrow in confusion while Venom vibrated in his chest--like he was laughing. 

“Is he talking to you now?” 

“Yeah.”

“What is he saying?” Drake cocked his head, and Eddie shrugged. 

“Nothin’ for your pretty face to worry about.” 

Drake flushed. He opened his mouth, closed it, then turned sharply on his heel and walked away. 

Eddie blinked. “Wha’ was that all about?”

**He is attracted to you**

“What?!” Eddie snapped his head back—not that Venom was there to see. “What the fu—no he’s not—“ 

**He acts like you did with Annie**

That got Eddie to freeze. He snapped his mouth shut, staring at the empty space next to his shoulder. Venom slowly materialized with that stupid grin, his eyes narrowing as Eddie continued to stare. 

**“Eddie—“**

“Don’t—don’t talk about Anne.”

Venom tilted his head. **“Why not?”**

“Just—Just don't. Please.”

Venom stared, then sunk back into Eddies skin. Eddie could feel him travel around his ribs and up his spine, and he closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the concrete of the wall. 

It didn’t hurt. 

Nothing really hurt anymore. 

**You get sad when you think about her**

“Yeah, no shit.” Eddie groaned. He ran his hands through his hair and down his face, letting them slap down on the floor he was sitting on. “Can we _not_ talk about this?” 

Venom slipped back down Eddie’s spine, settling around his heart.

**If that is what you want**

“It is.” Eddie snapped it out, digging his fingers into the fabric of his sweatpants. “What we can talk about, though, if how this is a _suitable planet_ for you.” 

**It is as I said, Eddie. Our planet is becoming too small**

“So you just gonna, what, colonize Earth?”

**Yes**

“You can’t do that!” 

**Why not? You did**

Eddie snapped his mouth shut. “Yeah, but that was just--” He opened and closed his mouth, unable to come up with an answer that didn’t make him sound like an actual dick. “--fuck.” 

**It is the same principle. You needed space to expand, we need space to expand**

“But you can’t just--”

**Many of you will remain alive**

Eddie swallowed. “As your hosts?”

**Yes**

Eddie sighed. There wasn’t anything he could do to stop it, not from this tiny cell, and he wasn’t entirely sure he _did_ want to stop it. This world wasn’t kind, not anymore, and there wasn’t a whole lot more Eddie could do to make it better. 

They probably deserved it anyway.

“You have fun with that.” Eddie closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the wall. 

**You’re not going to fight it?**

“Why would I? I’ve done everything I could to make this place better for the people I care about, and you saw how that turned out.” Eddie tugged the blanket off the cot, covering himself with it and tucking it behind his shoulders and under his legs. “I ended up with no money, debt that I’ll never be able to pay off, a friend who's gonna die, a parasite and probably an STD or two.” 

Venom remained silent for a moment.

**You are not sick. I will not let you get sick**

“Oh, good.” Eddie huffed out a dry laugh. “Cross that one off my list then.” 

Eddie sucked in a deep breath. “I didn’t--I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, ya know? I just wanted to get money so Maria could get better buts she not--she’s just _not_.”

**You do not know that**

“I do though! I was a reporter! I watched my grandma die! I know--” Eddie’s voice cracked. “I know what death looks like.”

Venom moved around, and Eddie watched as his black goop slid down his arm and across the back of his hand.

**We do not mourn death on my planet**

“Yeah, well we do here.” Eddie lifted his hand and spread his fingers, and Venom moved between the open spaces. “At least I do.” 

Venom stayed silent again.

Eddie watched as he moved across his hand for a little while longer before dropping his hand. “Just--wake me when the invasion comes, alrigh’? Then we can get outta here.” 

Venom stilled. 

**Yes. We**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals week is over and I am FREE
> 
> this one is a little dialog heavy, but, ya know. building relationships.
> 
> ((venom gets he/him pronouns, because that's what Eddie gave Venom in the movie))


	6. Chapter 6

Drake was staring at Eddie, and Eddie was staring right back.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re stable, Eddie. You have been for the past two weeks.” Drake said it liked it explained everything. 

“So--so you want _me_ ,” Eddie pointed at himself, then at Drake. “To go out with _you_ , to--what? See if I go crazy in public?” 

“You wont go crazy, Eddie.” Drake took a step closer to the glass. He looked ready to open the door, and Eddie shrank further against the wall. “Like I said, you’re stable. And we would only be on Life Foundation property.” 

**We are not crazy, Eddie**

Eddie ignored Venom. “Yeah, I uh--I think I’ll stay here, thanks.” 

He wasn’t comfortable around Drake--he never _had_ been, but after Venom’s little revelation Eddie had been even more weary. 

“Eddie, you can’t stay in here--”

“Really? I had no idea.” 

Venom was laughing in Eddie’s chest, his ribs vibrating with the movement.

Drake frowned, his hands curling into fists. “I’ll come back.”

Then he spun on his heel and walked off. 

Eddie let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He fell back on the bed, bouncing a bit as he slid his arm under his pillow and pulled the blanket up around his shoulders. 

He was always so tired lately.

**If we go outside we could hunt. Eat proper food**

“That sounds like a horrible idea.” Eddie mumbled it, rolling over as he tried to get comfortable.

**The food Drake brings us is not sustaining**

“Why don’t you eat my liver then?” Eddie grumbled. His pillow was too cold.

**I do not want to eat us, EddieWe could eat him**

Eddie snorted. “Yeah, I don’--I don’ know how I feel about that one.” 

**Why? You don’t like him**

“Yeah, but I like eating people even less.” Eddie curled his fingers, watching as the black mass he was holding formed the vague shape of a hand. 

**Sorry**

“No, I--I get why ya did it, I just--” 

**You do not like the way it happened**

“You were starving. There wasn’t much else that you could do.” 

Venom slunk around Eddie’s neck and down his side, poking his head up to meet Eddie’s eyes. He was like a cat in that way, staring at Eddie and blinking slowly and narrowing his eyes. Eddie found the entire thing oddly adorable. 

“It’s done and over with, no need to dwell on it.” Eddie gave a gentle squeeze to the goop he was holding hands with. “You haven’t even been outside, have ya?” 

Venom tilted his head. **“No.”**

Eddie hummed. “It’s kinda pretty, if ya know the righ’ places.” 

**“You will show us.”**

“If you can get us out of here, sure.” 

Venom hummed, then sunk back into Eddies skin.

“Eddie?” 

Eddie huffed. He pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders, then heaved in a breath as he sat back up. Drake was back and still smiling, and Dr. Skirth was standing next to him, fidgeting and looking anywhere that wasn’t at Eddie. 

“Dora has offered to accompany you outside, Eddie.” Drake gestured vaguely in her direction. “Are you more comfortable with that?” 

Eddie looked at Dr. Skirth.

**She is more easy to overpower**

“I am not—“ Eddie started, then cut himself off. Venom was right, but Eddie couldn’t—he couldn’t do that to her. “We’re not going to do tha’ to her.”

Venom hummed in his chest. 

“Well?”

Eddie looked back up at Drake. He swallowed. “Yeah, I’ll go ou’ with her.” 

“Wonderful!” Drake’s smiles were a little frightening, if Eddie were being honest. “I’ll have someone escort you up in an hour.” 

“Great.” Eddie watched them go, holding eye contact with Dr. Skirth until she finally turned around and jogged after Drake. 

Venom was vibrating his his chest, slinking around his ribs.

“What’s got you all excited?”

**You said outside was pretty. We like pretty things**

Eddie huffed out a laugh. 

 

—

 

Eddie squinted at the bright light as he stepped outside, but Venom was up in his skull, taking away the pain and adjusting his eyes quicker.

“Thanks, V.” 

Venom hummed. 

Dr. Skirth was looking at him, head tilted slightly. Eddie blinked and looked away from her, starting a slow walk around the edge of the courtyard. 

It was all encased in a brick wall, and he let his hand run along the bricks. Venom slipped out from underneath his fingertips, feeling the rough texture for a moment before sinking back into his skin. 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Dr. Skirth pipped up.

It was just the two of them out here. 

**Are you sure you don’t want us to eat her?**

Eddie ignored Venom. 

“Well, ya know,” Eddie paused, crouching down to get a better look at a flower at Venom's insistence. Eddie let Venom take control of his hand to reach out and touch the petals. It looked like a Poppy. “You did kinda put me in ‘ere.”

“Mr. Brock, I—“ Dr. Skirth paused. Eddie could hear the shaky breath she took in. “I want to get you out of here.”

Eddie paused. 

“What Dr. Drake is doing isn’t right, and I—you shouldn’t be here—“ 

“You want to help me get out of here.” Venom gave back control as Eddie stood. “Did I hear that right?”

Dr. Skirth swallowed. “You’re the only Host still alive—the only symbiote still alive.”

Venom seems to shrink in on himself, curling around Eddie’s heart as tightly as he could without damaging it.

“They’re all dead?” Venom’s shock at the news leaked out into Eddie’s voice. 

“Yes.” Dr. Skirth took a step back as Eddie took a step forward. “He wants to perform more tests on you—see how far the bond goes—“

“What kind of tests?” 

“I don’t—I don’t know. He won’t tell me.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes, then stalked off to the other side of the court yard. 

**They are all dead?**

“That’s what she said.” Eddie kept his voice low. “Is that-“

**It is of no consequence. They did not care about us, and we did not care about them. Riot will call others to replace the ones lost**

“That’s—well, shit.” Eddie frowned, then blinked. “Wait—Riot?” 

**My spawn**

Venom slunk around Eddie’s chest.

**We are not close**

“I—“ Eddie stopped walking. “That’s—“

**We should take her offer, Eddie. Get out. Stop Riot**

“Wait--wait, hol’ on.” Eddie resumed his pacing, running a hand through his hair and letting the other gesture aimlessly. “Invasion I got. We went over that already. And Riot is in charge of this? Your--your _kid_?”

**Yes**

“And now you want to stop it?” 

**Yes**

Eddie was thoroughly lost. “ _Why_?” 

**We want to see more of Earth** Venom’s voice seemed quiet. **Want to see more beautiful things**

“Oh,” Eddie stopped walking again. “I--”

“Eddie!”

Eddie turned around. Drake was standing next to Dr. Skirth, a guard at his side and smiling again. “I need you to come back inside.” 

Eddie could feel Venom wanting to pull him back, to stay out in the grass and breeze. He could feel Venom wanting to go back to that little flower, to pick it and hold it between his fingers and feel the petals and breath in the pollen. Eddie could feel Venom wanting _more_.

“Eddie!”

Eddie swallowed, holding out an open palm at his side as he walked back to Drake.

Venom filled the gaps between his fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venom just wants to look at pretty things with Eddie, okay? 
> 
> (school is actually kicking my ass, and I just don't have as much time as I use to to just sit down and write, so updating has been a bit of a bitch for me)


	7. Chapter 7

Later that night Eddie lay awake, staring up at the ceiling of the little cell. 

**Are you alright, Eddie?**

“Just thinkin’.” 

Venom hummed from somewhere in his chest. He slinked around Eddies ribs and up his spine--it was a comforting motion to Eddie, and it soothed away some of the aches and pains in his chest.

There was a beat of silence as Venom rooted around. Eddie didn’t mind it anymore.

**You are sad**

“I’m always sad.” Eddie laughed a little, then sighed and threw his arm over his eyes. “It’s not a big deal, V.” 

Venom remained silent, waiting for Eddie to continue. 

Eddie sighed again. “I just-- I usta to be somebody, ya know?”

**But you are somebody, Eddie**

“No, I mean—“ Eddie waved his hands around, trying to think of words that could explain it. “I usta to have a job. People knew who I was, they respected me.” 

Eddie could feel Venom’s head tilt. 

“I had an apartment and a fiancé and—and a cat and even when I lost all that I had my street corner and Maria and Mrs. Chen--“ Eddie swallowed back a tight throat and tears. “Now all I have is this stupid cell, and it’s not even _mine_.” 

**But you have us, Eddie**

Venom slid some of his goop out of Eddies arm. It was warm, and Eddie watched as Venom weaved through Eddie's fingers until he was holding them; holding a hand that wasn’t really there.

**We are all you will ever need**

“What are ya doing?”

**Providing comfort**

Venom’s head popped out of Eddie’s shoulder, and he stared at him before curling around his neck in a manner that was as comforting as it was protecting 

**“This makes you happy.”**

Eddie couldn’t really argue with it. 

Venom slipped back into his skin as an orderly walked by. 

Eddie missed the warmth of the symboite immediately. 

When the footsteps faded Venom came back out, and Eddie lifted a hand to lay gently on his jaw. Eddie spread his fingers, letting them run along Venom’s teeth and the hardened goop that served as bone. “I want to get out of ‘ere.”

**“We will.”** Venom leaned into Eddie’s hand. **“She will help us.”**

Venom wasn’t strong enough to leave on his own. It was something they talked about often--how Drake kept Venom just on the edge of starvation to keep him slow and sluggish and sedated. 

Eddie smiled softly, and, in an urge he couldn’t quite shake, leaned up to press an even softer kiss to the top of Venom’s head.

Venom stilled, then dropped back beneath Eddie’s skin.

Warmth and a happy buzz flooded Eddie’s chest. 

, **Sleep**

Eddie hummed, his eyes quickly growing heavy and his body fuzzy and limp. “Yeah, alrigh’.”

**We will take care of you, Eddie. No more labs, no more strangers at night, not more hurt and sadness** Venom slunk across his skin and curled tighter around Eddie, bumping their head on the underside of his jaw as they burrowed into the crook of his neck. **Only us**

“I know.” Eddie mumbled, then drifted off. 

 

\--

The next few days went by in a blur of needles and scans and machine readings and pain and comforting hums and nudges in the dead of night. Venom did the best that he could to make the pain go away, but it was hard when most of the pain was directed at him. 

Eddie would whisper quietly to the symboite, letting him slink between his fingers and around his arms and holding him close to his chest to feel his heartbeat. 

_We’re still here_ Eddie would think, and Venom would curl around Eddie’s neck and shiver until he was warm again. 

Dr. Skirth would walk them back to the cell each night, not looking at them as she let the door hiss close. Then she would hurry away, her heels sounding unnaturally loud on the tiles of the floor. 

Until one night she hurried away quicker than usual, and when Eddie looked up he understood why.

“V…” Eddie whispered it, keeping his eyes fixed on the door so Venom could look through him.

The door was left open. Just a crack. Just enough for Venom to use a little force to break the lock.

Venom slid into Eddie’s hands, and Eddie curled his fingers around him and held him just above his sternum. Venom was shaking, and Eddie held him just a little tighter. “Are you gonna be okay to--”

**I will make myself be okay**

Even Venom’s voice was shaky. 

Eddie bit his lip. “I’ll do most of it, okay?”

Venom said nothing, but he slid up Eddie’s shoulder and curled around his neck. 

Eddie let Venom be. He fell down into the bed, pulling the blanket high up to his chin. He faced the wall, listening to the footsteps from outside and feeling Venom’s tremors lessen. Eventually the lights turned off and the equipment shut down, and Eddie waited until the only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat. 

“You ready?”

Venom burrowed back underneath his skin.

**Yes**

Eddie took a deep breath, then threw the blanket off him. He sat up, peering around though the glass of the door. 

He couldn’t see anyone. 

“Alrigh’, here we go.” Eddie swung his legs off the bed and stood, padding softly to the door. He set his hands on the glass, and Venom slid down his arms as he gave a push.

The lock snapped. 

Eddie held his breath. No one came running, so he pushed the door open and stepped out. 

“You wouldn’t happen to know how to get out of here, would you?” Eddie asked, sticking close to the walls as he made his way to the door on the other side of the room.

**We will figure it out**

Eddie didn’t think that Venom did anyway. “Alrigh’, cool. Cool.” 

This door pushed open easily as well, and Eddie stepped out into the public part of the facility. It looked a little familiar, but Eddie certainly didn’t know it well enough to navigate his way through it. 

“Okay, uh--lets go--lets go this way.” Eddie started off towards the left, but he didn’t get terribly far.

“Hey!” 

Eddie froze.

“What are you doing?” a security guard was making his way towards him fast, radio held to his mouth and talking rather quickly in it. 

“I’m just, uh--” Eddie started, and Venom finished for him by throwing a tendril out and crushing the guards radio.

Eddie blinked, then took off running. 

“Hey--STOP!”

Eddie could hear the guard footsteps pounding behind him, and Eddie let a slew of curses tumble out of his mouth as he slammed into a door. He shoved it open, pushing himself to run faster as he heard more shouting behind him.

**Hold on**

Eddie hardly had time to understand just what Venom was saying before he threw them against a wall. Eddie yelped, letting Venom guide them around the group of security guards that came bursting out the door in front of them. 

They landed on the floor again with a crack, and Eddie didn’t bother to look behind him as he took off running again. 

He pushed himself through another door, momentarily stunned by the cold breeze that hit his face. 

**Keep moving, Eddie**

“Right, right--” Eddie took off in the direction of the woods, screaming as something loud cracked behind him and dirt sprayed up in front of him. 

Venom gave a low growl. He slid across Eddie’s skin, covering him and hardening into a shell just as a bullet bounced off their back. 

_“What are you doing?!”_

_**“Getting us out of here.”**_ Venom’s voice came from Eddie’s throat, and then he was looking through Venom’s eyes in a disorienting shade of ultraviolet. They slammed into a solid hunk of metal, and when they looked over Eddie wished he could say he was more surprised to see the range rover Venom had just threw. 

Venom let out a deafening roar, then they were tearing through the forest frighteningly fast. 

Eddie felt a little sick at how fast the bright blue and purple colors were flying by, but he kept his eyes open.

They scaled the chain link fence around the Life Foundation perimeter, the metal rattling underneath their claws. They took off down the dirt roads until they became pavement, jumping up onto buildings to stay out of sight as they got closer to the city, Eddie almost begging Venom to not look down. 

The further they got into the city the more Eddie took control, until they were dropping from a building onto the sidewalk in front of a familiar building that looked strange in the ultraviolet shades, the concrete cracking underneath them. 

Venom slowly slid back into Eddie’s skin, leaving Eddie feeling small and cold as he stared at Mrs. Chen’s shop. 

“Eddie?”

Eddie blinked slowly, dragging his eyes down from the sign to the door.

“Hey, Mrs. Chen.”

Then Eddie’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he dropped onto the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that the most romantic thing I've ever written is between sentient space goo and a hobo trash man 
> 
> ((hi yes university is the actual worst its not fuckn worth it just go work at starbucks the rest of your life and live out your dream of a meet-cute marry rich trope))


	8. Chapter 8

There was a lot of chatter going on, and Eddie waved a heavy hand and shushed it. It fell silent, and Eddie gave a happy little hum as he rolled over and pulled the blanket tighter around him.

**Eddie**

“Wha’?” Eddie’s voice sounded rough and his mouth was incredibly dry.

**Eddie, get up**

Venom jerked Eddie’s arm, and Eddie shot up. The first thing he saw was the well worn couch he was laying on in Mrs. Chen’s living room. Then he saw the shelf full of plants in Mrs. Chen’s kitchen. Then he saw the little paper lanterns her son had made her, then the window, then the walls, then the group of people crowded around her kitchen table. 

“Eddie!”

It was a chorus of voices, then someone was pushing a chair back and walking towards him and throwing their arms around him in a tight hug.

Eddie froze and Venom jerked, eyes widening at the head of blond hair he was looking at.

“...Anne?” 

“Eddie, you’ve been gone for weeks!” Anne pulled back. She looked tired, new worry lines etched on her face. “Where have you been?”

“I—“

**Eddie, food**

Venom sounded agitated.

“I uh—hold on.” Eddie pushed past her and glided into the kitchen, ignoring the stares he was getting from everyone else at the table. He rummaged around in the cupboards, pulling out a chocolate bar and ripping it open and shoving a chunk of it in his mouth as he moved to the fridge. 

**I like this. It’s good**

“Yeah?” Eddie popped another chunk in his mouth. He took out the jug of milk, holding it against his hip as he shoved the carrots and bell peppers aside. “More than potatoes?” 

**Maybe**

Eddie let out a little _ah-hah_ of triumph. He pulled the steak out and set his bounty down on the counter while shoving the rest of the chocolate in his mouth. He washed it down with a swig of milk, then picked up the steak—still bloody and raw—and ripped a chunk off.

Venom was practically purring in the sheer delight of it.

“Eddie?”

Eddie looked back at the table. Dan was there, and Mrs. Chen was staring at him with wide eyes while Anne took careful steps towards him. 

“Who—who are you talking to?” Anne asked. Her voice had a tremor to it.

Eddie chewed the steak—tough and gamey and fucking delicious—then swallowed. “I uh—I have a parasite.” 

**I am not a parasite!**

“It’s a term of endearment.” Eddie took another bite of the steak. 

“Eddie,” this time it was Dan talking, and he stood up to offer his seat to Eddie. “Come sit down.” 

Eddie frowned, but took the offered seat. He took the jug of milk and steak with him, setting both down on the table with a rather loud crack. 

“Do you—do you want that cooked?” Mrs. Chen asked softly.

“Nah. We’re good.” Another swig from the jug and another tear at the steak. Venom was humming in delight, buzzing around in Eddie’s chest. The thought of not having that stab of constant hunger was enough to make Venom want to take over and gorge, but Eddie shut that down as soon as the thought crossed his mind. 

“Eddie--” Anne’s voice cracked, and she swallowed and cleared her throat. “Eddie, where--where were you?” 

Eddie swallowed. “Did Mrs. Chen not tell you?”

“It’s wasn’t my place to say.” Mrs. Chen said.

“Oh.” Eddie blinked. He felt grateful for it--Anne didn’t need to know. “Is Maria okay?”

“She’s in the hospital.” Mrs. Chen reached across the table, resting her hand on Eddie’s for a moment before pulling away. This was a conversation for another time, when Anne and Dan were not here. 

Eddie nodded. 

They would talk later. 

“Eddie--” Anne repeated.

“It’s not important.” Eddie snapped it out. There was a bit too much of Venom in his voice, but Eddie didn’t quite feel like calling him out on it. “We’re fine okay?”

“But you’re not!” Anne pressed on, and Dan placed a hand on her shoulder as she stood, trying to get her to calm and sit back down. “You were talking to thin air--” 

**“He was talking to me.”**

Several things happen at once.

Anne screamed--a high pitched thing that set both Venom and Eddie on edge. 

Venom hissed--honest to god _hissed_ , slipping around Eddie’s neck and hiding his face behind Eddie’s. Eddie himself lifted his hand to steady the symbiote, holding him close against his neck, the goop feeling warmer than usual. 

Dan took a step back, eyes going comically wide as they flicked between Eddie and Venom.

Mrs. Chen didn’t look scared so much as she looked sad.

“Oh, Eddie,” She lifted her own hands, leaning across the table to cup Eddie’s cheeks. “What did they do to you?” 

“I told you, they gave me a parasite.” Eddie smiled, running his hand down Venom’s tendrils to sooth him. He lifted his other hand to place over Mrs. Chen’s, then turned to look at Venom. He looked like a cornered animal, twitching like he was ready to bolt, tendrils creeping down Eddie’s neck and under his clothes like he would sink back into Eddie’s skin at any moment. “They’re not gonna hurt you, V.”

**“We will hurt them first.”**

Eddie frowned, but then he was hit with a realization and a sudden wave of emotion that wasn’t his own. 

Venom hadn’t had any human contact besides him and the scientists at Life Foundation. 

As far as Venom knew, humans were like Drake and his scientists, and Eddie was the outlier.

Venom was _scared._

“ _I_ won’t let ‘em hurt you.” Eddie amended. He turned away from the group, keeping his back to them as he cupped Venom in his hands. He went a little softer, turning into something a little more solid that mailable pile of goop in Eddie’s hands. “Promise.”

“What is that?”

Eddie didn't turn to face Anne. He kept his eyes firmly locked with Venom’s, curling his fingers up to keep him boxed in his hands. “This is Venom.”

“Eddie…” this time it was Dan that spoke, but Anne was quick to speak over him.

“You need to get rid of it, Eddie!”

Eddie scowled and finally turned back to the group. Venom slid back under his skin, traveling immediately to his chest and wrapping himself around Eddie’s heart and winding between his ribs and spine.

**Close, so they cannot separate us**

“No, I’m not gonna--”

“Eddie, you don’t know what that thing is--”

“I know tha’ he’s been keeping me alive,” Eddie snapped it out. It was probably too much for him to say, but once he started he couldn’t seem to get himself to stop. “I know tha’ he needs _me_ to stay alive, and I know tha’ I care about him as much he cares about me, which is more than I can say abou’ you.” 

Anne snapped her mouth shut, her cheeks coloring. 

“Don't you dare say that I don’t--”

“I’m not doin’ this with you righ’ now.” Eddie cut her off, standing up so quickly that the chair teetered and came dangerously close to tipping over. Venom slipped out just enough to gently curl around his wrist and fingers, squeezing softly as Eddie stormed out of the kitchen and down the stairs to the store.

The only light on was the one above the counter, and it flickered and buzzed. 

Eddie scowled at it, then went to the coolers at the back of the store, ripping one open and pulling out a bottle of chocolate milk. 

**Do you mean that?**

“Mean wha’?” Eddie twisted off the cap and downed half of it in one go. 

**That you care about me**

Eddie paused, lowering the bottle down from his lips. He lifted his hand to wipe at his mouth, then turned to look at his reflection in the glass door of the cooler. Venom stared back at him, eyes narrowed and teeth bared.

“Course I did.” Eddie blinked, and Venom narrowed his eyes further in response, his grin turning into something more like a smile. 

“Eddie!”

Eddie looked away from the glass.

Mrs. Chen was coming down the stairs. She circled out from the counter, pausing for a moment as she looked into the glass. Eddie glanced back to see Venom looking at her, but Mrs. Chen looked away and continued on till she was standing in front of Eddie.

“I’m sorry--they were passing by when you showed up--”

“ Hey, don’ worry about it.” Eddie smiled, and Mrs. Chen gave a weak one in return.

She stayed silent long enough for Eddie to finish the rest of the milk, then, “they want you to go to the hospital.”

**NO**

Venom’s shout made Eddie wince and jerk back.

**No hospitals**

“I uh...I think we’re good on tha’ one.” 

“Yes, I thought as much.” Mrs. Chen huffed out a small laugh, then her face fell, and she looked up at Eddie before looking away again. “It’s been two months, Eddie. You’ve been gone for two months.” 

Eddie swallowed down something that tasted suspiciously like guilt. “Shit--I’m sorry--”

“No, you’re not.” Mrs. Chen shook her head. “She has cancer. A brain tumor.” 

Eddie stilled, the breath stolen from his lungs.

“They want to do surgery to remove it.” 

“Fuck,”

Mrs. Chen smiled again, but this time it was dripping with sorrow. “Fuck is right.” 

“I--” Eddie found himself at a total loss for words. He was never without words--he always had something to say, something to snark, something--he just always had _something_.

“She doesn't want to make the choice until she sees you, in case--” Mrs. Chen paused, swallowing harshly and blinking quickly. “--in case something goes wrong.” 

“ _Fuck_.” Eddie repeated it, crushing the bottle in his hand. He dropped it, then kicked it, sending it skittering across the floor. He wanted to punch something, but instead he sagged, letting Mrs. Chen wrap her arms around his shoulders and pull him into a hug. She was warm and smelled like spice and potting soil and home. “I--I can’t, Mrs. Chen--I--I got into some shit and I can’t--”

“You have to leave.”

It was much more of a statement than a question.

Eddie nodded.

Mrs. Chen sighed, then pulled back. She looked into his eyes, searching for something. “What did they do to you, Eddie?”

“I’m a host to an alien.” Eddie couldn’t help but huff out a little laugh. It sounded utterly ridiculous out loud. “And I ran off wit’ ‘em.” 

“Of course you did.”

They fell into a silence. Then Mrs. Chen sighed, stepping back and giving Eddie a fond smile. She patted his arm, letting her fingers linger a little longer before dropping her hand back to her side. “At least call me this time? You know how much I hate to worry about you.”

“I promise.”

Mrs. Chen nodded, then she turned on her heel and went back up the stairs.

Eddie could hear yelling a moment later.

**I can help her**

Eddie blinked. “What?”

**Maria. I can heal her**

Eddie felt something churning in his gut. “How?”

**Take the sickness away**

Venom curled tighter around his heart, squeezing as tightly as he safely could.

**I would have to leave us to do it**

Eddie swallowed.

 

\--

 

Maria looked so small in the hospital bed and swathed in blankets and IV lines and heart monitors, the steady beeping of her vitals a constant reminder of why she was here. She looked even smaller as Venom slinked across her body and slipped beneath her skin.

Eddie crossed his arms high over his chest.

He felt empty, without Venom. 

Eddie perked up at the sound of feet pounding outside in the hall, and his eyes went wide as he saw who it was through the glass.

“Ven--!” 

Venom slinked up Eddie’s hand just as the door burst open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals are done and I am finally free for the summer, babey
> 
> (Mrs. Chen knows that Eddie is a dumbass, but hes a smart dumbass and she trust him to know what hes doing)

**Author's Note:**

> i absolutely do not need to be starting another fic
> 
> and yet, here i am, doing it anyway
> 
> I don't think the guy who robbed Mrs. Chen had a name so I just gave him the most dickish sounding name (every single marcus i've ever met has been a dick) (I apologize to any marcus' out there that aren't dicks)


End file.
